This is a blog for Texas State students taking FCS 4347 (Family Policy) to be able to post their weekly reading assignment (3 newspaper articles about issues or policies that effect individuals and families) and to write their reactions, opinions and implications of the articles.

Friday, September 20, 2013

How Physical Fitness May Promote School Success

4. The article concerns: The article indicates how physical activity in children can help them retain information better than children who do not engage in exercising. Overall physical fitness may aid children in learning.

5. Why is this important to families or affect them?
It is important for families with children to understand the significance in physical fitness and the overall wellness it provides for children at young ages. With the obesity epidemic is it vital for children to engage in physical activity as like the article exemplifies to help with learning ability and to promote a healthy lifestyle. With school budgets cutting off some physical education courses and families understanding the importance it brings for children can help advocate for school not to cut the programs.

6. What are your views on the issue?
I feel that the article brings a great concern for school to start incorporating physical fitness to the elementary schools and taking physical activity seriously. As an advocate of fitness, personally I see a great difference in my learning ability when I keep myself physically and mentally active. As with the research indicated the more difficult something is to learn, the more physical fitness may aid in learning it. With schools cutting their physical education budgets should really understand the downside of what they are putting the children at a disadvantage to their learning ability and not just their health. Overall I feel that being activity is such a great benefit to the body and the brain.

1 comment:

I really enjoyed this article and I'm glad you blogged about it. I am also an advocate of physical fitness. I believe that with the obesity epidemic that is going on, physical fitness is more important now than ever. Children used to play outside all day and now with video games and television, that is their "playing." Because of this fact, schools need to increase the time spent in PE class, not decrease or do away with it completely. I was always able to focus better after lunch or recess. Even to this day, if I cannot concentrate, I found that if I go move around a little, do a chore, run an errand, and then return to my desk, I can focus much better. That type of restlessness never goes away even when you get older. That is another reason we need to develop these habits as children so that we can be successful adults. Which brings me to another point that this is the first generation that is not going to outlive their parents. So why continue to cut physical education programs? That makes no sense to me. I liked the study's point that the kids in better shape were able to handle more challenging tasks. I thought that was an interesting find. Children that are obese already have health problems ahead of them. If a child is obese they are more likely to become an obese adult. Childhood obesity has negative outcomes like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. These are nutrition related problems that can be reversed and cured through proper diet and physical fitness. Now we may not be able to control what kids eat to a certain degree, but we can make them participate in Physical Education classes that can potentially help them improve in school. Looks like a win-win situation.